SOUTH KOREA
Court rules on ‘Baby Shark’
The Supreme Court yesterday rejected a 30 million won (US$21,648) damage claim by an American composer who accused a South Korean kids content company of plagiarizing his version of Baby Shark, ending a six-year legal battle over the globally popular tune. The top court upheld lower court rulings dating back to 2021 and 2023 that found no sufficient grounds to conclude the company, Pinkfong, infringed on Jonathan Wright’s copyright. Wright, also known as Johnny Only, released his version in 2011, four years before Pinkfong’s, but both were based on a traditional melody popular for years at children’s summer camps in the US.
Photo: AP
MALAYSIA
PM orders probe of attack
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim yesterday said that he has ordered authorities to conduct a swift and thorough investigation into an attack on a former minister’s son. Former minister of economy Rafizi Ramli, who resigned in May, wrote on social media that his 12-year-old son was dragged away and stabbed with a syringe by an unknown assailant while leaving a shopping mall on Wednesday. Last month, Rafizi called for a royal commission of inquiry to probe alleged political interference in the judiciary, among other concerns. Rafizi told a news conference that the attack was “an act of intimidation” to silence him, adding that his wife had received threatening text messages, including on that read: “Shut up! If you continue, AIDS!” followed by three syringe emojis, Rafizi said.
UNITED STATES
Death-faker sentenced
A Rhode Island man accused of faking his death and fleeing the country to evade rape charges was found guilty on Wednesday of sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in his first of two Utah trials. A jury in Salt Lake County found Nicholas Rossi guilty of a 2008 rape after a three-day trial in which his accuser and her parents took the stand. He is to be sentenced on Oct. 20 and is to stand trial next month for another rape charge in Utah County. Utah authorities began searching for Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, when he was identified through a decade-old DNA rape kit in 2018.
UNITED KINGDOM
Lammy fined for fishing
Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy has referred himself to the environment watchdog after going fishing in a carp pond with US Vice President J.D. Vance without a license, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said on Wednesday. Lammy, who failed to catch any fish at his country retreat in Chevening, did not have the rod license needed to angle for freshwater fish.
UNITED STATES
‘Demon rabbits’ normal
A group of rabbits in Colorado with grotesque, hornlike growths might seem straight out of a low-budget horror film, but scientists said there is no reason to be spooked — the furry creatures merely have a relatively common virus. The cottontails recently spotted in Fort Collins are infected with the mostly harmless Shope papillomavirus, which causes wart-like growths that protrude from their faces like metastasizing horns. Viral photos have inspired a fluffle of unflattering nicknames, including “Frankenstein bunnies,” “demon rabbits” and “zombie rabbits,” but their affliction is nothing new, with the virus inspiring ancient folklore and fueling scientific research nearly 100 years ago.
